Exhibit 23(e)(3)
(BISYS(R) LOGO)
BISYS FUND SERVICES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, DISTRIBUTOR
SELLING GROUP MEMBER AGREEMENT
Re: LEGACY FUNDS GROUP
Ladies and Gentlemen:
As the distributor of the shares ("Shares") of each investment company portfolio
("Fund"), of the investment company or companies covered hereunder
(collectively, "Company") which may be amended by us from time to time, BISYS
Fund Services Limited Partnership ("Distributor") hereby invites you to
participate in the selling group on the following terms and conditions. In this
letter, the terms "we," "us," and similar words refer to the Distributor, and
the terms "you," "your," and similar words refer to the intermediary executing
this agreement, including its associated persons.
1. SELLING GROUP MEMBER. You hereby represent that you are properly qualified
under all applicable federal, state and local laws to engage in the
business and transactions described in this agreement. In addition, you
agree to comply with the rules of the National Association of Securities
Dealers, Inc. ("NASD") as if they were applicable to you in connection with
your activities under this agreement. You agree that it is your
responsibility to determine the suitability of any Fund Shares as
investments for your customers, and that we have no responsibility for such
determination. You further agree to maintain all records required by
Applicable Laws (as defined below) or that are otherwise reasonably
requested by us relating to your transactions in Fund Shares.
2. QUALIFICATION OF SHARES. We will make available to you a list of the states
or other jurisdictions in which Fund Shares are registered for sale or are
otherwise qualified for sale, which may be revised from time to time. You
will make offers of Shares to your customers only in those states, and you
will ensure that you (including your associated persons) are appropriately
licensed and qualified to offer and sell Shares in any state or other
jurisdiction that requires such licensing or qualification in connection
with your activities.
3. ORDERS. All orders you submit for transactions in Fund Shares shall reflect
orders received from your customers or shall be for your account for your
own bona fide investment, and you will date and time-stamp your customer
orders and forward them promptly each day and in any event prior to the
time required by the applicable Fund prospectus (the "Prospectus," which
for purposes of this agreement includes the Statement of Additional
Information incorporated therein). As agent for your customers, you shall
not withhold placing customers' orders for any Shares so as to profit
yourself (or your customers) as a result of such withholding. You are
hereby authorized to: (i) place your orders directly with the relevant
investment company (the "Company") for the purchase of Shares and (ii)
tender Shares directly to the Company for redemption, in each case subject
to the terms and conditions set forth in the Prospectus and any operating
procedures and policies established by us from time to time. All purchase
orders you submit are subject to acceptance or rejection, and we reserve
the right to suspend or limit the sale of Shares. You are not authorized to
make any representations concerning Shares of any Fund except such
representations as are contained in the Prospectus and in such supplemental
written information that we may provide to you with respect to a Fund. All
orders that are accepted for the purchase of Shares shall be executed at
the next determined public offering price per share (i.e., the net asset
value per share plus the applicable sales load,
if any) and all orders for the redemption of Shares shall be executed at
the next determined net asset value per share and subject to any applicable
redemption fee, in each case as described in the Prospectus.
4. COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS; DISTRIBUTION OF PROSPECTUS AND REPORTS;
CONFIRMATIONS. In connection with its respective activities hereunder, each
party agrees to abide by the Conduct Rules of the NASD and all other rules
of self-regulatory organizations of which the relevant party is a member,
as well as all laws, rules and regulations, including federal and state
securities laws, that are applicable to the relevant party (and its
associated persons) from time to time in connection with its activities
hereunder ("Applicable Laws"). You are authorized to distribute to your
customers the current Prospectus, as well as any supplemental sales
material received from us (on the terms and for the period specified by us
or stated in such material). You are not authorized to distribute, furnish
or display any other sales or promotional material relating to a Fund
without our written approval, but you may identify the Funds in a listing
of mutual funds available through you to your customers. Unless otherwise
mutually agreed in writing, you shall deliver or cause to be delivered to
each customer who purchases shares of any Funds from or through you, copies
of all annual and interim reports, proxy solicitation materials, and any
other information and materials relating to such Funds and prepared by or
on behalf of the Funds or us. If required by Rule 10b-10 under the
Securities Exchange Act or other Applicable Laws, you shall send or cause
to be sent confirmations or other reports to your customers containing such
information as may be required by Applicable Laws.
5. SALES CHARGES AND CONCESSIONS. On each purchase of Shares by you (but not
including the reinvestment of any dividends or distributions), you shall be
entitled to receive such dealer allowances, concessions, sales charges or
other compensation, if any, as may be set forth in the Prospectus. Sales
charge reductions and discounts may be available as provided in the
Prospectus. To obtain any such reductions, the Company or Distributor must
be notified promptly when a transaction or transactions would qualify for
the reduced charge and you must submit information that is sufficient (in
the discretion of the Company and/or us) to substantiate qualification
therefor. The foregoing shall include advising us of any Letter of Intent
signed by your customer or of any Right of Accumulation available to such
customer. If you fail to so advise us, you will be liable for the return of
any commissions plus interest thereon. Rights of accumulation (including
rights under a Letter of Intent) are available, if at all, only as set
forth in the Prospectus, and you authorize any adjustment to your account
(and will be liable for any refund) to the extent any allowance, discount
or concession is made and the conditions therefor are not fulfilled. Each
price is always subject to confirmation, and will be based upon the net
asset value next determined after receipt of an order that is in good form.
If any Shares purchased are tendered for redemption or repurchased by the
Fund for any reason within seven business days after confirmation of the
purchase order for such Shares, you agree to promptly refund the full sales
load or other concession and you will forfeit the right to receive any
compensation allowable or payable to you on such Shares. We reserve the
right to waive sales charges. You represent to us that you are eligible to
receive any such sales charges and concessions paid to you under this
Section.
6. TRANSACTIONS IN FUND SHARES. With respect to all orders you place for the
purchase of Fund Shares, unless otherwise agreed, settlement shall be made
with the Company within three (3) business days after acceptance of the
order. If payment is not so received or made, the transaction may be
cancelled. In this event or in the event that you cancel the trade for any
reason, you agree to be responsible for any loss resulting to the Funds or
to us from your failure to make payments as aforesaid. You shall not be
entitled to any gains generated thereby. You also assume responsibility for
any loss to a Fund caused by any order placed by you on an "as-of" basis
subsequent to the trade date for the order, and will immediately pay such
loss to the Fund upon notification or demand. Such orders shall be
acceptable only as permitted by the Company and shall be subject to the
Company's policies pertaining thereto, which may include receipt of an
executed Letter of Indemnity in a form acceptable to us prior to the
Company's acceptance of any such order.
7. ACCURACY OF ORDERS; CUSTOMER SIGNATURES. You shall be responsible for the
accuracy, timeliness and completeness of any orders transmitted by you on
behalf of your customers by any means,
including wire or telephone. In addition, you agree to guarantee the
signatures of your customers when such guarantee is required by the Company
and you agree to indemnify and hold harmless all persons, including us and
the Funds' transfer agent, from and against any and all loss, cost, damage
or expense suffered or incurred in reliance upon such signature guarantee.
8. INDEMNIFICATION. You agree to indemnify us and hold us harmless from and
against any claims, liabilities, expenses (including reasonable attorneys
fees) and losses resulting from (i) any failure by you to comply with
Applicable Laws in connection with activities performed under this
agreement, or (ii) any unauthorized representation made by you concerning
an investment in Fund Shares. We agree to indemnify you and hold you
harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, expenses (including
reasonable attorneys fees) and losses resulting from (i) any failure by us
to comply with Applicable Laws in connection with our activities as
Distributor under this agreement, or (ii) any untrue statement of a
material fact set forth in a Fund's Prospectus or supplemental sales
material provided to you by us (and used by you on the terms and for the
period specified by us or stated in such material), or omission to state a
material fact required to be stated therein to make the statements therein
not misleading; provided, however, that the indemnification in this clause
(ii) shall be limited to indemnification actually received by us as
Distributor from the Funds, except to the extent that the relevant claims,
liabilities, expenses and losses result from our own failure to exercise
reasonable care in the preparation or review of the Prospectus or such
other materials.
9. MULTI-CLASS DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS. You understand and acknowledge that
the Funds may offer Shares in multiple classes, and you represent and
warrant that you have established compliance procedures designed to ensure
that your customers are made aware of the terms of each available class of
Fund Shares, to ensure that each customer is offered only Shares that are
suitable investments for him or her, to ensure that each customer is
availed of the opportunity to obtain sales charge break points as detailed
in the Prospectus, and to ensure proper supervision of your representatives
in recommending and offering the Shares of multiple classes to your
customers.
10. ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING COMPLIANCE. Each party to this agreement acknowledges
that it is a financial institution subject to the USA Patriot Act of 2001
and the Bank Secrecy Act (collectively, the "AML Acts"), which require,
among other things, that financial institutions adopt compliance programs
to guard against money laundering. Each party represents and warrants that
it is in compliance and will continue to comply with the AML Acts and
applicable rules thereunder ("AML Laws"), including NASD Conduct Rule 3011,
in all relevant respects. The parties agree to cooperate with one another
to satisfy AML due diligence policies of the Company and Distributor, which
may include annual compliance certifications and periodic due diligence
reviews and/or other requests deemed necessary or appropriate by us to
ensure compliance with AML Laws.
11. PRIVACY. The parties agree that any Non-public Personal Information, as the
term is defined in Regulation S-P ("Reg S-P") of the Securities and
Exchange Commission, that may be disclosed hereunder is disclosed for the
specific purpose of permitting the other party to perform the services set
forth in this agreement. Each party agrees that, with respect to such
information, it will comply with Reg S-P and that it will not disclose any
Non-Public Personal Information received in connection with this agreement
to any other party, except to the extent required to carry out the services
set forth in this agreement or as otherwise permitted by law.
12. SERVICE FEES. Subject to and in accordance with the terms of each
Prospectus and the Service Plan, if any, adopted by resolution of the
Board, we may pay financial institutions with which we have entered into an
agreement in substantially the form annexed hereto as Appendix A or such
other form as may be approved from time to time by the Board (the "Fee
Agreement") such fees as may be determined in accordance with such Fee
Agreement, for shareholder or administrative services, as described
therein.
13. ORDER PROCESSING. You represent that you have reviewed your policies and
procedures to ensure that they are adequate with respect to preventing
violations of law (including rule 22c-1 under the Investment Company Act of
1940, as amended) and prospectus requirements related to timely
order-
taking and market timing activity, and you hereby provide the confirmation
set forth on Appendix B hereto. You represent that you will be responsible
for the collection and payment to the Company of any Redemption Fees, based
upon the terms outlined in the Company's prospectus.
14. AMENDMENTS. This agreement may be amended from time to time by the
following procedure. We will mail a copy of the amendment to you at your
address shown below. If you do not object to the amendment within fifteen
(15) days after its receipt, the amendment will become a part of this
agreement. Your objection must be in writing and be received by us within
such fifteen (15) days. All amendments shall be in writing and except as
provided above shall be executed by both parties.
15. TERMINATION. This agreement will terminate automatically upon the
termination of the Distribution Agreement between us and the Funds. This
agreement may be terminated by either party, without penalty, upon ten
days' prior written notice to the other party. Any unfulfilled obligations
hereunder, and all obligations of indemnification, shall survive the
termination of this agreement.
16. NOTICES. All notices and communications to us shall be sent to us at 000
Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, 00xx Xxxxx, Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxxxx 00000, Attn: Broker-Dealer
Compliance Department, or at such other address as we may designate in
writing. All notices and other communication to you shall be sent to you at
the address set forth below or at such other address as you may designate
in writing. All notices required or permitted to be given pursuant to this
agreement shall be given in writing and delivered by personal delivery, by
postage prepaid mail, or by facsimile or similar means of same-day
delivery, with a confirming copy by mail.
17. AUTHORIZATION. Each party represents to the other that all requisite
corporate proceedings have been undertaken to authorize it to enter into
and perform under this agreement as contemplated herein, and that the
individual that has signed this agreement below on its behalf is a duly
elected officer that has been empowered to act for and on behalf of such
party with respect to the execution of this agreement.
18. MISCELLANEOUS. This agreement supersedes any other agreement between the
parties with respect to the offer and sale of Fund Shares and other matters
covered herein. The invalidity or unenforceability of any term or provision
hereof shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other term or
provision hereof. This agreement may be executed in any number of
counterparts, which together shall constitute one instrument. This
agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts without regard to conflict of laws
principles, and shall bind and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto
and their respective successors and assigns.
If the foregoing corresponds with your understanding of our agreement, please
sign this document and the accompanying copies thereof in the appropriate space
below and return the same to us, whereupon this agreement shall be binding upon
each of us.
BISYS FUND SERVICES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP
By:
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Insert Name:
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Title:
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Date:
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Agreed to and accepted:
[Dealer]
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By:
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Insert Name:
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Title:
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Date:
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Address of Dealer:
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APPENDIX A
LEGACY FUNDS GROUP
BISYS FUND SERVICES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, DISTRIBUTOR
SERVICE FEE AGREEMENT
Ladies and Gentlemen:
This Fee Agreement ("Agreement") confirms our understanding and agreement with
respect to payments to be made to you in accordance with the Selling Group
Member Agreement between you and us (the "Selling Agreement"), which entitles
you to serve as a member of the selling group for certain Funds for which we
serve as Distributor. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have
the respective meanings set forth in the Selling Agreement.
1. From time to time during the term of this Agreement, we may make payments to
you pursuant to one or more service plans (the "Plans") adopted by certain of
the Funds. You agree to furnish shareholder and/or administrative services to
your customers who invest in and own Fund Shares, including, but not limited to,
answering routine inquiries regarding the Funds, processing shareholder
transactions, and providing other shareholder services not otherwise provided by
a Fund's transfer agent to your customers. With respect to such payments to you,
we shall have only the obligation to make payments to you after, for as long as,
and to the extent that, we receive from the Fund an amount equivalent to the
amount payable to you. The Fund or us, as Distributor, each reserves the right,
without prior notice, to suspend or eliminate the payment of such payments or
other compensation to you by amendment, sticker or supplement to the
then-current Prospectus of the Fund.
2. Any such fee payments shall reflect the amounts described in a Fund's
Prospectus. Payments will be based on the dollar amount of Fund Shares which are
owned by those customers of yours whose records, as maintained by the Funds or
the transfer agent, designate your firm as the intermediary of record or is
agreed to by us and the intermediary of record. No such fee payments will be
payable to you with respect to shares purchased by or through you and redeemed
by the Funds within seven business days after the date of confirmation of such
purchase.
3. You agree that all activities conducted under this Agreement will be
conducted in accordance with the Plans, as well as all applicable state and
federal laws, including the Investment Company Act of 1940.
4. At the end of each month [quarterly, upon request?], you shall furnish us
with a written report describing the amounts payable to you pursuant to this
Agreement and the purpose for which such amounts were expended. We shall provide
quarterly reports to the Funds' Board of amounts expended pursuant to the Plans
and the purposes for which such expenditures were made. You shall furnish us
with such other information as shall reasonably be requested by us in connection
with our reports to the Board with respect to the fees paid to you pursuant to
this Agreement.
5. This Agreement shall continue in effect until terminated in the manner
prescribed below or as provided in the Plans. This Agreement may be terminated,
with respect to one or more Funds, without penalty, by either of us, upon ten
days' prior written notice to the other party. In addition, this Agreement will
be terminated with respect to any Fund upon a termination of the relevant Plan
or your Selling Agreement, or if our Distribution Agreement with the Funds
terminates.
6. This Agreement may be amended by us from time to time by the following
procedure. We will mail a copy of the amendment to you at your address shown
below. If you do not object to the amendment within fifteen
(15) days after its receipt, the amendment will become a part of this Agreement.
Your objection must be in writing and be received by us within such fifteen
days.
7. This Agreement shall become effective as of the date when it is executed and
dated by us below. This Agreement and all the rights and obligations of the
parties hereunder shall be governed by and construed under the laws of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
8. All notices and other communications shall be given as provided in the
Selling Agreement.
If the foregoing is acceptable to you, please sign this Agreement in the space
provided below and return the same to us.
BISYS FUND SERVICES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP
By:
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Insert Name:
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Title:
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Agreed to and Accepted:
Name and Address of Selling Group firm:
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By:
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Insert Name:
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Title:
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Date:
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APPENDIX B
TO: BISYS FUND SERVICES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP
AS DISTRIBUTOR OF LEGACY FUNDS GROUP
CONFIRMATION
As a member of the selling group for the Shares of the above-referenced Funds,
and pursuant to the terms of our Selling Agreement, we hereby certify to you
that we will at all times comply with (i) the provisions of our Selling
Agreement related to compliance with all applicable rules and regulations; and
(ii) the terms of each registration statement and prospectus for the Funds.
We have performed a review of our internal controls and procedures to ensure
that such controls and procedures are adequate to (i) prevent the submission of
any order received after the deadline for submission of orders in each day that
are eligible for pricing at that day's net asset value per share ("NAV"); and
(ii) prevent the purchase of Fund Shares by an individual or entity whose stated
objectives are not consistent with the stated policies of a Fund in protecting
the best interests of longer-term investors, particularly where such
customer-investor may be seeking market timing or arbitrage opportunities
through such purchase.
